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The Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board releases a 2006 Socio-Economic Impact Assessment Workshop Report and announces a public comment period ending June 30, 2006 for Draft SEIA Guidelines developed to improve environmental assessment practices in the region.
Independent Environmental Monitoring Agency (IEMA) Ekati Closure and Reclamation Workshop, February 14-16 2006 — companion/second-set binder. Includes Draft Mine Site Reclamation Guidelines for the NWT (Preface — origins in NWT Water Board and DIAND practice from the early 1980s, complementing the 2002 Mine Site Reclamation Policy), reclamation objectives ensuring abandoned mine facilities are physically stable and require no long-term maintenance, and the Dispute Resolution Article XIV procedures (and Ministerial discretion exception).
Policy direction from the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board establishing procedures for processing transboundary applications for land use permits and water licenses that span multiple management areas or extend beyond management area boundaries.
This combined Environmental Agreement Annual Report 2005 and Environmental Impact Report 2006 from BHP Billiton summarizes environmental monitoring and management at the Ekati Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories, evaluating compliance with water licences and environmental agreements across air, land, water, and wildlife parameters. The report indicates that while Ekati operated within licence terms in 2005, monitoring has detected various environmental effects ranging from negligible to minor, including dust and metal deposition, changes in aquatic habitats, caribou avoidance of the mine site, and shifts in bird populations, with adaptive management strategies in place to address these issues.
The Environmental Monitoring Advisory Board (EMAB) urges the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs to provide participant funding for Aboriginal communities to participate in the Diavik Diamond Mines water licence renewal hearings scheduled for March 2006 under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act. EMAB emphasizes that without adequate intervener funding, Aboriginal parties will be unable to effectively participate in the regulatory review process.
BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc. notifies Indian and Northern Affairs Canada of construction of a new incinerator facility at Ekati Diamond Mine to replace three existing incinerators operating above capacity, with detailed inspection reports documenting facility operations, environmental compliance, spill incidents, and Canada-wide standards for dioxins, furans, and mercury emissions.
A comparative legal study examining financial security requirements for hardrock mining in the NWT relative to ten Canadian and U.S. jurisdictions, identifying gaps in the NWT's regime and proposing an ideal security framework with recommendations for legal reform.
DIAND provides an update to the Environmental Monitoring Advisory Board on the status of the Coppermine River Cumulative Effects Monitoring Program, detailing its history since 1999, funding interruptions in 2003, and current operations including water quality monitoring and hydrometric stations across six sites in the Coppermine River basin.
This discussion paper compares mine reclamation and financial assurance legislation across Canadian federal departments, agencies, and provincial governments, with particular focus on the Northwest Territories. It provides an overview of types and amounts of financial assurance required for mining operations and advanced mineral exploration, utilizing the RECLAIM cost estimation model to support government policy on environmental protection and liability management.
EKATI Diamond Mine newsletter for April 2005 reporting the one-year extension of the primary water licence, ISO 14001 re-registration, winter road operations, and various community and employee initiatives including safety programs, leadership development, and charitable contributions.
This IEMA workshop presentation reviews environmental monitoring and management programs at the Ekati Diamond Mine for 2004, covering mining operations, water licence renewal, LLCF management changes, closure planning challenges, and wolverine incidents.
This workshop presentation reviews changes to Long Lake Containment Facility (LLCF) effluent at Ekati Diamond Mine, documenting unexpected increases in conductivity, sulphate, potassium, and molybdenum since summer 2003. BHPB is investigating the causes through special studies while the Independent Environmental Monitoring Agency recommends continued tracking of these water quality changes.
A three-day applied environmental statistics short course presented to DIAND by B. Zajdlik covering fundamental statistical concepts, exploratory data analysis, hypothesis testing, experimental design, and sampling methods with emphasis on environmental monitoring data analysis including water quality and contaminant measurements.
Ekati Diamond Mine Landfarm 2004 Annual Report, prepared by EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd. for BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc. (Yellowknife), March 2005, EBA Project 5100945.001. Documents the Landfarm sump (east corner) and hydrocarbon-impacted soil stockpiles photographed June-August 2004 from multiple angles, and Enviro-Test Soil Salinity Conversion analytical results (Lab L156547, Sample TP7 sampled March 1 2004) for Chloride, Sulphate, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Sodium in mg/L, %Sat, Meq/L, Dry Soil mg/kg formats.
IEMA submits comments on the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board's draft TEK Guidelines, commending the initiative and offering specific suggestions to strengthen the document's treatment of traditional knowledge in environmental impact assessment and decision-making processes.
An ICMM-commissioned study examining environmental financial assurance (EFA) instruments and policies for mine closure and reclamation globally, providing framework and negotiation guidelines for governments and mining companies to balance environmental protection with investment climate and cost efficiency.
This technical report documents the application of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Protocol for Winter Water Withdrawal in the Northwest Territories, presenting bathymetric surveys and volume calculations for 55 small lakes in the Mackenzie Delta region to support industrial water users and protect over-wintering fish habitat. The report demonstrates how sampling effort in bathymetric surveys directly affects accuracy of lake volume estimates and provides guidance for determining safe water withdrawal limits.
Surveillance Network Program (SNP) January 2005 Monthly Reports binder for the Ekati Diamond Mine, BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc. (transmitted March 31 2006 to South Mackenzie District INAC). Includes August 2005 SNP Monthly Reports for station 0008-Be2 (under Water Licence MV2001L2-0008) covering Historical Total Chromium (Discharge Criteria Max Average 0.02 mg/L / Max Grab 0.04 mg/L), Historical Nickel and Total Zinc (Max Average 0.01 mg/L / Max Grab 0.02 mg/L) trend charts, and historical Chloride levels at station 1616-30 January 2005 onwards, with notes that sampling was not conducted at station 1616-43 (per October 2004 SNP report).
A comprehensive literature search and review of fish biology, ecology, and habitat in northern Canada, focusing on seven fish species in the Lac de Gras watershed of the Northwest Territories where diamond mining occurs, with emphasis on information requirements for assessing impacts of mining on fish habitat under Canada's Fisheries Act. The document details search strategies across multiple databases and retrieves over 3,000 scientific references related to fish species biology, watershed ecology, and habitat compensation strategies applicable to Arctic mining operations.
Closure and Reclamation Binder 2 for the Ekati Diamond Mine — Wek'èezhii Land and Water Board (WLWB) and BHP Billiton correspondence (2007-2008). Correspondence between Laura Tyler (BHPB), Sarah Baines (Regulatory Officer BHPB), Ryan Fequet (WLWB), Carole Mills, Zabey Nevitt, Bruce Hannah (DFO), and Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation Wildlife Lands and Environment (July 2007 letter to Zabey Nevitt critiquing exclusion from Agreement oversight). Discusses revegetation acceptability to stakeholders, closure-method "no vegetation" Tables 44-48, Table 51 closure-monitoring program description, internal Director workshops with Aboriginal-organization (Society Member) public components.